by Kailin Gow
“The falling glass seems endless. I would have thought the entire Force Field had fallen by now. When will it end?” I muttered.
“I think the Force Field may have been in layers,” Torrid said, “each one crumbling down after the other. How many layers there actually are is anyone’s guess. It could go on raining like this for days, maybe even weeks.”
Once again I was struck by the chasm that separated the life I’d once known and the reality that sat at my feet. The day and the night; the light and the dark; the perfection and devastation.
Absentmindedly, my hands reached out to the hands of the two guys at my side, knowing how heartbroken they also were by this war.
“Liam,” I said after a long moment of reverence. “Why did you bring us up here?”
He squeezed my fingers. “For one, I wanted you to see what’s really happening all over Arcadia.” He glanced over me at Torrid. “You saw what those falling fragments can do. Even a small piece can have devastating effects. I just don’t want you to underestimate the danger out there.”
I tightened my hold of him, touched by his ongoing concern for me. Despite everything, I knew he was still on my side and I treasured that.
“Matthew and Jocelyn are over there.” He pointed over the neighboring building to the distant right. “In the Coliseum.”
My eyes widened as I saw for the first time the notorious Coliseum I’d heard so much about lately. “So that’s the Coliseum,” I mumbled. “It’s such an unattractive structure.”
“It certainly matches what goes on inside.” Liam grimaced. “I wonder if the architect knew what purpose it would eventually serve.”
I knew how hard this was for him. That Coliseum had been built by his father, or at least with his father’s knowledge and blessing.
“My heart wants to beg you not to even try and get there. One of the heaviest and most dangerous battle zones is right there. I think some Arcadian citizens may have learned of the existence of the Coliseum, and of its purpose, and they’re causing quite an uproar. Getting there is going to be risky… treacherous. ”
I gazed up at him and pressed my lips into a determined line.
“Yes,” he said knowingly. “I know you're going to go and try to save Matthew and Jocelyn no matter what’s happening out there; no matter what I say. That’s why I wanted to at least do what I can, and that is to warn you of what you’re about to face. It may take a bit longer, but it’ll be safer if you go out that way.” He pointed to the far left. “You can go through the Onyx District and try to go around and arrive at the Coliseum from the other side. The added time it’ll take you to get there will be compensated by the time you’ll save by not having to battle your way through this dense war zone.”
“Makes sense,” Torrid said with a nod of approval.
I heard his thoughts. His initial plan had been to fly straight across, but the intensity of falling glass made it too dangerous to seriously consider.
Without even realizing it, Liam had just given Torrid the solution he’d been seeking.
“There’s something else you should be aware of,” Liam added. “Dr. Sanz seems to want to protect the Coliseum at all costs. It’s heavily guarded and getting in unnoticed is going to be difficult. Don’t be in too much of a rush to get in. Take your time.”
“That goes without saying,” Torrid said.
Liam gazed at his watch. “It’s late in the day and many of the guards will be tired. The past nights have been sleepless for many of them and that’ll surely put gaps in the Coliseum’s heavy armor. I think your best bet will be at gate three through seven, gate five being the slackest of them all. These gates are all on the back side and see less action than the main gates out front. Weariness and lack of action can literally put the guards to sleep. Chances are some of the guards won’t be at their station at all.”
“I’ll take all your suggestions very seriously, Liam,” Torrid said. “I’m sure your advice will help us immensely.”
A tremendous thud startled us all and we instinctively reached out to put our hands to the wall just as the floor under our feet began to shake.
“The huge shard,” Liam said when the shaking finally stopped. “It finally came down. We should get out before the building becomes too unstable.”
We hurried down the stairs only to find the main entrance blocked by the huge piece that had finally succumbed to the forces of gravity.
“The back entrance is probably our safest way out anyway.” Liam didn’t miss a beat, but quickly turned on his heel and led us to the back.
Pushing the door open, Liam pointed to the left. “Don’t forget, go out and around to the back of the Coliseum.”
Though his directives were aimed at Torrid, Liam gazed at me one last time. “Hopefully we’ll get a chance to see each other again when this is all over.”
A huge ball of pain took hold of my throat. “Liam, what are…?” I choked and coughed on my emotions. “What are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to try to find the best way of dealing with my father. If what Torrid says is true, about him erasing everyone’s memory and rebuilding Arcadia as it once was, I won’t let it happen.”
Torrid reached out to grab Liam’s shoulder. “You have a huge task ahead of you. Fighting one’s own father isn’t easy, no matter the circumstance. I wish you success.”
Liam nodded and turned his gaze to the ground.
I turned to Torrid and said, “I love Liam, too. I always have.”
Liam’s eyes lifted from the ground to look at me with some hope. It was something I wanted him to have, and it was the truth of how I felt about him. “What are you saying?” Liam asked.
“That I don’t want to choose yet. I need and want both of you in my life. I don’t want to say good-bye to either of you because I love you both. It doesn’t matter what my Life’s Plan says. It doesn’t matter what yours say. We can forge our own destiny, and if I want to be with you, I should be able to choose to. If I want to be with anyone else, I should be able to choose to. Liam, I want a better future for Arcadia and for the Djinns. We are fighting on the same side. We need to fight together.”
Chapter 17
While Liam left to infiltrate his father’s army, Torrid and I sneaked through the maze of tall buildings, avoiding the larger pieces of falling glass as best as we could and sidestepping the more intense battles, but our progress was slow and laborious. It seemed for every step we took forward we had to take a few to the side, around, back, and forward again.
“We’ll never make it to the Coliseum tonight,” I grumbled with increased frustration. Though I fully understood Liam’s concern and the need for us to take the long way to Matthew and Jocelyn, my impatience grew at an infuriating pace.
“There’s no need to rush, Kama. If anything the increased darkness will afford us a greater chance of entering unhindered.”
“Yeah, but in the meantime we don’t know what they’re doing to Matthew and Jocelyn. What torture are they putting them through? I can’t bear to think about the pain they might be causing both of them.”
“Just concentrate on getting through all this safely. You won’t be of much help if you get caught. We’ll deal with whatever we find when we come to it.”
Liam’s advice proved even more valuable than we’d initially thought. The war that raged just beyond the tall buildings was fierce and bloody. Every other second was filled with the piercing screams of pain and terror.
As we rounded the last of the taller buildings, we prepared to rush out to cross the street.
“Here,” Torrid ordered as he grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the shadows.
Carefully, we poked our heads around the corner to take a look.
Up ahead, under the pale light of a stylish street lamp, a gathering of Magical Ones huddled together, their eyes wicked and their grins macabre.
“We’ll have to go around the other way,” Torrid said.
“They all look so evil.
I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“The war and crumbling Force Field has brought out the worst in everyone. It’s also allowed the lowest of the lows to creep out from under their rock and cause even more havoc than necessary. Those guys aren’t out here to fool around. They mean business and when they get their hands on the enemy, they’re merciless.”
“It’s almost frightening to hear someone like you speak of them in such a way.”
He looked at me and cocked a brow.
“You’re one of the fiercest warriors of the Nethers. You said so yourself, you’ve trained all your life.”
He chuckled softly and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Were I out here by my lonesome I’d deal with them sure enough, but you change the equation quite a bit. Their sheer numbers pretty much guarantees one of them will get a hold of you while I’m dealing with a handful of their mates. If that happens, we’re in for a whole different batch of problems. I’d like to avoid that if we can.”
“You underestimate me. Remember, you trained me yourself.”
“I don’t underestimate you, Kama, but I don’t underestimate them either. It’s simply not a risk worth taking. We’ll do as Liam suggested and take the slower but surer route. After all, the goal of this exercise is not to fight evil Magical Ones, but to find your friends, right?”
I couldn’t argue with his logic. Nodding, I conceded him the winning point and we turned around to circle the building. Emerging on the other side, we stayed well within the shadows, hugging the walls as we inched our way to the Onyx District.
Just when I thought we’d be able to breathe more freely, a gang of marauders marched the streets, blocking our path.
“I’m afraid here we have no choice but to plow on through.” Torrid turned to me while his hand tightened fearfully around my fingers. “Are you truly ready to battle? This could get ugly.”
“I’m ready, Torrid.” Though a tinge of fear rose to my throat, my willingness to fight quickly overrode it. I was more than ready.
“Stay here until I give the signal.” He held his hand out to stop me from moving, emphasizing his desire to have me wait. Standing tall and strong, he emerged from the safe haven of our shadowed wall and walked directly up to the small gang.
My heart pounded in my ears as I watched him, so sure and steady with every step. But as my pride and confidence in his abilities soared, I suddenly wondered; what was the signal? How would I know when to intervene?
The answer came quickly enough.
The moment the gang turned and saw Torrid heading their way, they disbanded and scattered out in every direction. With a wink, Torrid turned to me and waved me out.
“That wasn’t too complicated,” I remarked.
“They were just a band of inexperienced youths looking for a way to play tough,” Torrid said. “If only every battle were so easy.”
Unhindered, we walked on, making good progress across the relatively deserted streets of the Onyx District. Little remained of what had once been a rather opulent neighborhood. Though not quite the Diamond District, it was nonetheless a neighborhood many citizens worked hard to eventually move into. Biting my lip as I looked around, I realized, however, how few citizens in Arcadia ever moved up.
For the most part one was born in, lived in and died in the same district. Pim Seer easily held out the possibility of moving up; work hard, he’d say; strive to better your life; save your nickels and dimes; give your time to Arcadia and you’ll be greatly rewarded.
I now knew it was all part of his hoax, his fallacy. No matter how hard one worked, the advancement in life never really came. It always remained out of reach.
“Pim once promised my mother we could come live here,” I said aloud. Up until now I’d never understood the tireless hours my mother had put into her work and the endless promise of a better life. But she’d been caught up in Pim’s lies as well. She’d believed that hard work really could change our lives. “I know I shouldn’t complain. We had a decent house and I had a happy childhood living in my neighborhood, but…”
“Don’t beat yourself up for wishing for a better life. Pim relied on the citizens’ need to get ahead in order to get from them what he needed. He held out the possibility of a nicer home in a more coveted neighborhood like a carrot to a mule.”
“And we all fell for it.” I stopped in front of a destroyed home, the broken swing set in the back yard visible through the demolished walls. Beside it was a pool with a stone patio and walkway that led to an artificial fish pond and fountain. “You know, in school they always made it sound like we were all equal, all important, but there was always this underlying streak of…”
“Haughtiness? Snobbery? Nose lifted in the air?”
Shocked by the revelation, I looked at him. “Yeah. I mean, it was subtle, but…” I shook my head in disbelief, even while so many memories came flooding in; Mrs. Tesh in third grade and her little grimace every time she mentioned anyone from the Garnet District. Mr. Caldwell and the discreet way he had of ensuring all the kids from the Diamond District sat up front, while all the kids from the Garnet, Sapphire and Ruby District sat further away.
“I can’t believe it. It was always there.” I felt so stupid and naïve. “I remember a very few who were rather blatant in their snobbery, but the main message was that we were all alike, no matter where we lived, but that was all a lie.”
Torrid grasped my shoulders and gazed at me, sadness veiling his eyes as though it was his own childhood memories and dreams that had been shattered. “I hate to see how so much of what you believed as a child has turned out to be lies. I just hope all of this doesn’t jade you. It’d be a shame to see someone so bubbly and full of life, and the love of life, turn cynical.”
“I admit cynicism isn’t too far away these days. With every new bubble that is burst, my optimism takes a blow.”
His gaze hardened with determination. “Things will get better. This war will end and Pim Seer and Dr. Sanz’s reign of terror will end. Unfortunately, for now, things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.” He leaned in and kissed me, his lips soft and reassuring as they blanketed mine with warmth.
Despite the love I felt from him and the strength his kiss gave me, my mind’s eye immediately went to the horrors we were about to face. Would I ever be able to get past the scenes that were to soon play out before us? Would I forever be haunted by the memories?
“I feel sick all of a sudden,” I said as I pulled away and put my hand to my belly.
Creasing his brow, he looked at me. “Is that the effect my kiss now has on you?”
I chuckled, thankful for a moment of reprieve from the ugliness that surrounded us. “No, it’s not that.” Shaking my head, I reached up to gently pat his cheek that was now rough with day long stubble, which gave him a stronger sensual look. My lips parted instinctively as I took in his beauty, such a contrast to the starkness we faced.
With a knowing grin, he took my hand and led me onward. “Liam said to make our way out through those homes and then head to the back of the Coliseum.”
Our approach to the Coliseum was met with the sounds of cheering and the shrill cries of death that echoed from inside. The incongruous blend was beyond understanding.
“How can one person so cheerfully applaud the torture and death of another?”
“Man is a strange beast,” Torrid said as he solemnly led the way. “As much as mankind struggles for civility, the animal in him always wins out. They create proper societies and claim higher intellect…” Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes as he scanned the boulevard we had to cross.
“As smart as man can be at times,” he went on, “I sometimes wonder if they are not in fact the weakest link of the animal world.”
“That’s a harsh assessment,” I said, trying not to be offended by his words.
“It’s only an observation, Kama. I’m not looking to point a finger or lay blame. I just look at what happens around me.” He poin
ted to the Coliseum gates. “There’s gate five and six. Liam was right. The guards are down on this side. No one is guarding. Getting in should be easy.”
The closer we got to the gate, the harder I had to work to control my gag reflex. The stench of death was overwhelming, the cries ghastly and the surrounding air dank and humid. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of Matthew and Jocelyn being kept in such conditions.
Inside the gate, the large corridor was only lit with a few small oil lamps. The stench was worse inside and the air clung to my skin with its clammy fingers. Added to the sounds of cheering crowds and moaning prisoners were the terrifying growls and snarls of feral dogs.
“It almost sounds as if they are roaming around every corner,” I said as I listened to the echoes that seemed to go on and on.
We reached an intersection. Moaning and groaning came predominantly from the left while the sounds of dogs came decisively from the right.
Torrid didn’t have to do too much convincing to get me to head left. Just a light tug and I was on my way.
“Let’s hope we find Matthew and Jocelyn safe and sound in their cell,” he said.
The winding corridors narrowed and darkened, and my hold of Torrid’s hand tightened. We were suddenly engulfed in cries for help, moans of pain and shouts of delirium.
“These cells go on and on,” I said. Overwhelmed by the task of finding Matthew and Jocelyn, I fought the sense of defeat that quickly swept over me. “There are hundreds and hundreds of prisoners.”
After hundreds of yards of cell upon cell, a long, thin arm reached out through the cell bars and grabbed a fistful of my hair. With a surprised yelp I was yanked back and found myself face to face with a prisoner.
“They’re going to feed us to the dogs,” he mumbled weakly. “All I did was ask why I didn’t get the promotion they’d promised. All I wanted to know was the truth. I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve any of this. I have a wife back home; Clarice. I have two little kids; Grant is only five and Bethany… my darling Bethany is not even one yet.”
